Our Prayer for the Welfare of the Converts

Introduction:

In
this letter, we will discuss an
ancient prayer which includes a
mention of the following groups:
tzadikim, chassidim, elders of
Your people, and gerei tzedek:

As we
discussed, the term “tzadikim”
refers to righteous individuals
who are devoted to the Torah
principle of “tzedek” – the
Divine plan for creation whereby
everyone and everything receive
their due.

The
term “chassidim” is an ancient
biblical term for those who are
lovingly devoted to Divine
service, going beyond the
minimum requirements of the
Torah. An example of this term
appears in the following
statement in the Book of Psalms:
“Sing to Hashem a new song; His
praise is in the congregation of
chassidim” (Psalm 159:1).

The
term “elders of Your people” is
a reference in our prayers to
the Torah sages who guide
Israel, the people chosen by
Hashem to serve as a model of
the Divine teachings. Within our
tradition, even a young sage is
called an “elder”, and the
Talmud teaches that an elder is
one who has acquired wisdom (Kiddushin
32b). An example of how the term
“elders” refers to sages can be
found in the verse where Hashem
tells Moshe to appoint a supreme
court of seventy “elders” to
assist him in leading and
judging the people (Numbers
11:16).

“Gerei Tzedek” are the converts
who join our people through
committing themselves to the
Torah’s path of mitzvos, which
is a path of tzedek. As King
David proclaimed,

At the beginning of the Second
Temple period, the members of
the “Great Assembly” – a
gathering of leading sages and
the last of the prophets –
composed the basic prayer
service that we have today,
including the series of weekday
blessings known as “Shemoneh
Esrei” – the highlight of the
daily prayer service. One of
these blessings includes a
prayer for the welfare of
converts, and the following is
an excerpt from this blessing:

“On the tzadikim, on the
chassidim, on
the
elders of your people the
Family of Israel, on the remnant
of their scholars, on the gerei
tzedek, and on ourselves – may
Your compassion be aroused,
Hashem, our God, and give goodly
reward to all who sincerely
trust in Your Name.”

In the above prayer from the
Shemoneh Esrei, the mention of
the tzadikim, chassidim, and
elders is followed by a mention
of the converts. The Talmud (Megillah
17b), in its discussion of this
prayer, states there is a
precedent in the Torah for this
juxtaposition, and the Talmud
cites the following example: It
is written, “You shall honor the
presence of an elder” (Leviticus
19:32), and the next verse
states: “When a convert dwells
among you in your land, do not
harass him” (19:33).

What does the convert have in
common with the elders and Torah
scholars? One answer is the love
of Torah, for the sincere
convert – the ger tzedek –
converts because of a love for
the Torah and its path of
mitzvos. Another answer is
because they all feel like
“strangers” in this world. For
example, King David was a Torah
sage who said to Hashem, “Oh,
how I love Your Torah! All day
long it is my conversation”
(Psalm 119:97); yet, he also
said:

In Letter 68 – The “Stranger” –
I offered the following
explanation of why David felt
like a stranger on earth:

In the above verse, David is
expressing the yearning of his
soul. The soul is a spiritual
entity – a spark of the Divine
essence; however, the spiritual
soul is placed within a physical
body on a physical earth. It is
therefore not surprising that
those who are aware of their
spiritual souls may initially
feel like gerim –
strangers – on this earth. Our
Creator, however, has given us
through the Torah a holistic
path of mitzvos – Divine
mandates – which enable us to
sanctify every aspect of our
physical existence on this
earth. For example, we have
mitzvos which sanctify the way
we eat, the way we have sexual
relations, the way we work the
earth, and the way we engage in
commerce. Through this holistic
path of mitzvos, the physical
become spiritual through being
consecrated for a higher Divine
purpose; thus, our souls can
feel more at home on earth. This
is why David prayed, “I am a
stranger upon earth; hide not
Your mitzvos from me.”

The convert has a very sensitive
soul, and like David, the
convert feels like a stranger
upon earth. The convert is
therefore attracted to the
mitzvos of the Torah path which
sanctify every aspect of earthly
existence, for like David, the
convert seeks to feel more at
home on earth.

I will conclude this letter with
the following story about a sage
and a convert:

The Chazon Ish was a leading
Torah sage who lived in Bnei
Brak, Israel. It was the custom
of this elderly sage to
celebrate Simchas Torah in the
study hall of the Ponovezh
Yeshiva, where the teachers and
students joyfully dance with the
Torah to lively spiritual
nigunim (melodies).
One Simchas Torah, when the
Chazon Ish left the yeshiva to
go home, he met a man weeping
openly in the street. The Chazon
Ish was concerned, and the man
told the Chazon Ish that he was
a ger tzedek; however, he felt
that some of his fellow-Jews
thought little of him and
treated him as an outcast. The
Chazon Ish said to him, “I
invite his honor to sing a
nigun.” The ger tzedek
obliged and began singing in a
robust voice. There, in the
street, the Chazon Ish danced to
the tune in front of the ger
tzedek as one would dance before
a bride and a groom at a
wedding. The spirits of the ger
tzedek were revived.

Have a Good, Sweet, and
Uplifting Shabbos,

Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen (See
below)

A Related Teaching and Comments:

1. In Pirkei Avos (6:6), it
states that the Torah is
acquired through 48 attributes,
and one of these attributes is
“beloved” – one who is dearly
loved. My rebbe, Rav Aharon
Feldman, explains this teaching
in the following manner: In
order to acquire Torah, one must
realize that one is the beloved
of Hashem! Each of us is dearly
loved by Hashem, and as we
explained in the previous
letter, this is especially true
for the convert.

2. “Shemoneh Esrei” by Rabbi
Avrohom Chaim Feuer is published
by ArtScroll:

www.artscroll.com
.

3. The story about the Chazon
Ish appears in the biography,
“The Chazon Ish,” by Rabbi
Shimon Finkelman, published by
Artscroll.